Winning in Wales: Vote local, vote list, vote Labour

Yesterday morning we got the news that UKIP look set to enter the Welsh Assembly for the first time next year – with a poll indicating they would get eight seats, all from the top-up regional lists, including two in North Wales. How do we stop this?

Later in the day I learned I would be leading that fight: I have been chosen by party members across the nine constituencies in North Wales to top Labour’s list.

In the last election we secured enough votes in North Wales to win a regional list seat. But only on our constituency vote. Too many Labour supporters thought their list vote was a second preference or it didn’t matter if they didn’t vote for us because we wouldn’t gain a seat anyway. We didn’t even have our candidates’ names on a leaflet.

This time we need a simple message: Vote Local, Vote List, Vote Labour. I will work with our Assembly Members and candidate in North East Wales to hold the five seats we have and our four candidates in North West Wales to maximise the Labour vote in seats. Together we can maximise the Labour representation and hold UKIP in check.

The Oldham by-election showed what we can do if we take the fight to UKIP – reminding people what Labour is doing positively and calling out UKIP on their attempts to divide people. The Welsh Assembly is currently finely balanced with Labour holding 30 seats out of 60. We need to maximise the Labour vote to maximise the number of Labour seats. The Welsh Labour Government is our dented shield to protect people from the worst excesses of the Tory cuts. We can’t do everything. We can only operate within the budget the Tories allow us to. We spend more per head of population on the NHS than in England but our population has greater health needs. But as this week’s Welsh budget showed we can choose different priorities from the Tories and demonstrate the difference a Labour Government can make.

I stood in the General Election in Aberconwy in North Wales, one of our target seats. Many people shared their stories with me who desperately needed a Labour government to make their lives better. But although we increased the Labour vote the Tory vote went up too. Tory lies and scare tactics worked. We cannot allow the Tories to paint us into a corner as a coalition of the dispossessed – we need to secure the support of everyone who wants to be part of a fairer, more prosperous Wales.

There are particular issues for North Wales. Historically and culturally we’re part of Wales. But our nearest big cities are in North West England. Our transport links run east to west not north to south. Our people often work across the border and use services across the border. We need to ensure that plans for economic development and regeneration on both sides of the border are integrated. We need to ensure that the decisions that most affect the people of North Wales are taken by politicians who are accountable to the people of North Wales, who often feel a long way from where decisions are taken in both Cardiff and London. That’s why I’ll be urging them to Vote Local, Vote List, Vote Labour.